Settling In

Wow! Hefei is much bigger than I expected! Everything is very spread out and there is an incredible mix of upper class shopping malls and little shabby garage-like shops and restaurants and outdoor street vendors and markets. I have yet to see another American-looking person, so I constantly get stared at. It is a welcoming surprise when someone says hello to me in English or starts a conversation. Yesterday on the bus that was packed tighter than I thought was possible, a student talked to me about his favorite American movie (Gone with the Wind) and how he was surprised of the bustle and crowds of Hefei in comparison to his hometown in a much smaller town in the same province (Anhui). Talking to him and hearing his eagerness to practice his English made me excited to start teaching tomorrow!

It is interesting to see the similarities in culture here to regular college-life that I am used to in the States. At one of the shopping centers I visited yesterday, there was an arcade and people were crowded around a game similar to Dance, Dance Revolution while a girl bounced around to the music (I have seen the exact scene in America). People are constantly texting on their cell phones and listening to their mp3 players. Some of the students are very stylish and on the streets they are busy socializing and buying snacks from vendors (intricately carved pineapple on a stick, baked goods, etc--things I have grown fond of since my poor Chinese makes it difficult to order in ordinary restaurants!). There are 4,800 students at the branch of Anhui University where I will be teaching, and there are at least a couple other universities here as well. I have pretty much spent my time outside of campus, so tomorrow I will be surrounded by campus life itself.